I believe the crux of the matter is that shooting 3 foot lay ups and six foot bunny hooks are much less difficult than dropping in a contested three or an on the move 16 foot jumper. D-Mo's defense will always be top tier. How many true paint protectors are in the NBA today? Ten? D-Mo does not depend on hot shooting to maintain his worth. It is a very easy call to make that D-Mo has become much more than relevant in today's NBA.
Not sure where I'd put him. But yeah, let's not get to carried away and declare him the best post player of the decade. He might be one of the most skilled. But DMo lacks power and/or explosiveness. Until he can overpower smaller defenders and out-quick bigger ones and play above the rim, he can only rely on his hooks and up-and-under layups. Explosiveness is a physical talent that cannot be learned. Power may be improved by adding more weight and muscle, perhaps in the expense of quickness. One thing he can add to his arsenal is a turn around jumper/fadeaway.
I really do enjoy seeing the dichotomy of the quintessential power post and finesse post game in our current front court. I think D12's power post game is underrated as well.
That's why I said they didn't give him a second chance after a failed post ups. Look at the denver game, he did not start off very well. The coaching staff went to his posts up regardless.
JTR I think you're being a bit ambitious in saying that. Respect your opinion but I would give him a full season or two before making a huge statement like that.
DMo's moves might be one of the best in the league, but I think Jefferson's size makes him a better post player.
How many true post players are there anymore - guys that can get a good shot from the low block? Jefferson DMo Can Scola still do it? Who else? The NBA has a serious lack of post players, and that alone is a major advantage for us - having something that teams don't see every day - makes it very hard to prepare or gameplan for. DD
There's not a lot of players that can do that WELL. Jefferson Pekovic DMo M Gasol I might be missing about 1 or 2 guys but I think this is pretty much it.
Those guys are more like Tier 2. They might be better players than DMo overall, but are inferior in the post.
Cousins is like elite tier so you left him out. Pau is still great in the post. Aldridge and Nowitzki don't operate much down there. Jump shots are the bulk of their offense. David West is Lolz. Randolph is still very good but does not get as many touches as in previous years. Still very good though. Where does vucevic get his points? I always see him put up great stats but never watch Orlando because well, they're terrible. What about Monroe? Where does he get the bulk of his points? I Also hardly ever watch Detroit.
DMo has a rather weird shooting form. I can't even imagine how a DMo fadeaway jumpshot would look like.
That's funny. Yes, I have never seen DMo shoot a fadeaway jumper...unlike all the other big-men post players listed, who all do that.
I think the game tomorrow against the Pelicans is going to be an interesting test for the Dwight- DMO twin towers (DOUBLE D!) .. facing up against Asik & Anthony, both premium defenders (and Anthony top 5 player). If Double-D can co-exist and both have good games, I think I'm ready to get real excited.
Once he adds a fader to his game and a consistent midranger, he will be deadly in an unthinkable way.... Those are tools post players use in order to trip up the D and bait them into leaving the rim open for attack. Hakeem knew this, thus was born the most deadly set of decisions a defender would have to make... contest or do not contest within an 8 foot range...
